Deathless Love
by Aeriel Ravenna
Summary: A story of KorePersephone and Hades. I know, i know, there are tons of those, but its one of the best myths! In Hades' POV. pg13 for later chapters, but might be raised to an R depending on how things progress. Go on, read it!
1. The Obsession Begins

[A/N: okay, so I know that there are like, fifty billion Persephone/hades stories. But I love this myth, so I rewrote it anyways. Enjoy!]  
  
I first met her when she was a young child. It had been when I was on one of my infrequent trips to Mount Olympus; I was there only because he needed to consult my brother on a delicate topic that could not be easily sent by messenger.  
  
I was about to enter the hall where meetings were held. I had slowly climbed the cold marble steps leading to the hall, dreading entering, knowing that the usual, inevitable cold silence would greet me. I had reached the top, and was hesitantly reaching for the door handle, when she ran into me, literally. She was a small, impish thing then; her large, green eyes sparkled mischievously, and she had lowered her long lashes in an attempt to seem more solemn. It didn't work.  
  
We looked at each other, her and I, for some while. I was a little surprised, truth be told, that I did not know who this childish goddess was, but then again, when had anyone bothered to tell me that a child had been born?  
  
"Who are you?" she had asked, with the air of a child whose curiosity could not be quenched. She spoke in the clumsy tone of one who has just learned to speak. She was about three or four, but gods and goddesses learn speech and gain intellect much more quickly than humans. "I've never seen you here before."  
  
"I am Hades, lord of the Underworld," I had told her, in my usual cold, dignified tone. Her eyes had widened slightly, and she slowly nodded.  
  
"Oh. That would explain it. Uh-I should go. Mamma told me not to talk to yo- I mean, not to talk to strangers," she had hurriedly said, horrified by her mistake. Her childlike innocence amused me, then, but I was also just a little hurt. She started to skip away.  
  
"Wait—who are you? And who is your mother?" I said, unable to resist myself. She slowly turned her head back to face mine, and replied.  
  
"Mamma is Demeter. And I'm Kore." she said, a lock of red hair twisted in her finger. With that, she left.  
  
I went into that meeting, slightly dazed by this slight, young chit. I don't think I even noticed the usual stony silence that greeted me, or the hard, dark looks some threw at me.  
  
'''''''''''''''  
  
Ever since that one, fatal meeting, I had looked for her. I had been given a wonderful object by the spirit of a sorcerer; it was a scrying glass, so that I could look up into the world. Earth was where Kore mainly stayed; not surprising, since both her and her mother, Demeter, were earth and harvest goddesses.  
  
I disliked my intrusion on her, and so in the year she turned seven by mortal standards, I cast aside the scrying glass, though I sorely resented the loss of seeing her. She was such a sweet girl, always trying to help mortals and such. Some might say that she was an opposite of me—life, where I was death, sunshine, where I was the cold blackness of the new moon.  
  
I still don't know today why I looked for her. I could have seen any other more amusing thing with my scrying glass, but I always searched for her. I believe it was because she was one person, one living person, who did not meet me with dark glances, with disgust, with anything. I had only met her once, yet her influence over me grew, and I found myself thinking of her more and more of her each day.  
  
Consequentially, because I set aside my spying, I did not see her again until she was probably around fourteen or fifteen, once again by mortal standards. I had gone up to earth to free the spirit of a man whose daughters curse had attempted to bind him to the earth. I easily undid the curse, and sent him on his way.  
  
Many people think I like gloom, doom and darkness, but it is not so. I enjoy sunlight and flowers and whatnot on occasion, but I did not go aboveground often, for I found that it made going back more difficult.  
  
I was strolling about a sunny meadow when I came across her with a few sprites. They were giggling and teasing, but as they saw me, all went quiet. Kore squinted at me, trying to remember who I was. The sprites glared at me.  
  
We stood for some time in an awkward silence, her with her friends, and I alone. Finally, the sprites turned their backs on me, and pulled Kore with them.  
  
"Wait," I heard her say. "I'll be back in a second. You go on without me; I'll catch up." The sprites hesitantly agreed, and left. Once they were a good distance away, Kore turned to me. Her green eyes flickered over me, taking in my pale skin, dark blue eyes, and ebony black hair. I stood uncomfortably, but took the opportunity to view her, too.  
  
She had grown while I hadn't seen her. She was just entering womanhood, but had obviously developed early, for she had pleasingly curved hips and form and small, high, but developed, breasts. Her hair was a reddish auburn, and the spiraling curls cascaded down her back. She had a sweet face, with full, pouting petal lips, a delicate nose, and, of course, her long lashed, large, emerald green eyes, toped by finely arched eyebrows. Her cheekbones were prominent, but not sharply so. She was beautiful.  
  
"Do I know you?" She asked, a crease of puzzlement on her forehead. I tried to appear unattached.  
  
"I believed we have met once, but you were but a babe then," I said, carefully coolly. She nodded. "Yes, you seem familiar, though not overly so. What is your name?" She asked.  
  
"Hades," I replied, softly. Her eyes widened slightly.  
  
"Oh," She replied. "I am Kore."  
  
"Kore," I echoed, frowning. It did not suit her. I would find something more appropriate one day.  
  
"My lord, pardon me if this seems impetuous, but I have always heard that you always remained in the Underworld, occasionally visiting Olympus. Are you fond of the earth, too?" she asked, timidly.  
  
"Yes, though not many know it. It is beautiful here, and I sometimes enjoy it," I answered.  
  
"Do you" Here she placed her hand, unthinkingly, upon mine. It was warm and soft "Ever miss it up here? Surely yo must dislike the darkness?" she asked, something akin to concern in her eyes.  
  
"No," I replied, hard, jerking my hand away. How dare she insult my kingdom in such a way! No one realized that the underworld was a beautiful place, too. Beautiful in a different way, but lovely none the less.  
  
"Oh!" she said, surprised. She smiled tentatively. "I apologize."  
  
With a sigh, I waved away her apology, and made my expression less hard.  
  
"My lord, what do you do out today? Business, I presume," she said.  
  
"What makes you say that? Perhaps I am out her for a pleasure jaunt, perhaps to talk to a beautiful young goddess such as yourself," She blushed, and smiled. I smiled back, shyly. "And please, don't call me 'my lord.' Call me Hades."  
  
"Thank you, m-Hades. You flatter me," she said, still smiling.  
  
"It is not flattery when it is the truth, dearest," I replied, softly now. I reached a hand to her cheek, and she stepped forward slightly to get closer. In could feel her sweet breath on my chest, and I would have kissed her, wanted to kiss her, had not—  
  
"KORE!" Demeter screeched. Kore tore herself away from me, and I jerked away, too, just as Demeter came into view.  
  
"Ah, Demeter," I said to her smoothly, coolly, not hint of a smile anymore. "I was just talking to your lovely daughter here." I turned and smiled at Kore. Demeter glared at me. "Well, don't!" Demeter said brusquely. I raised a dark eyebrow at her, then bowed. I vanished and transported myself back to my home.  
  
It was not till that night that I realized how I had felt with Kore. Was it—love?  
  
[:-D! Hope you liked. I'll update soon!  
  
X aeriel ravenna] 


	2. A Plan in Motion

**** **A / N:** Heyy, guys! Thanks to my reviewers, hopefully I'll get more! I'm sorry, but I had to add this brief little addition of Aphrodite and Hades 'lost love.**' I know it isn't true or anything, but hey! Artistic license.**

**Chapter Two**

"Aphrodite!" I called, uncomfortably aware of how out of place I must look in the sunny, flowering meadow that Aphrodite claimed as her own. "Aphrodite!" I tried again.

"Hades, dearest, how _wonderful _to see you again," Aphrodite said mockingly as she slid into the meadow with her usual boneless grace. Before I could reply, she had slunk over to me. "What can I do you for?"

"Loathe as I am to say this, I need your help," I said, with a deep breath. Aphrodite raised a perfectly arched golden eyebrow at me, and place a slender, white hand on my arm. Her mouth quirked slightly.

"Well, well, well," She said, smiling felinely. "It isn't often Death and Love go hand in hand anymore, is it?" She suddenly clenched my arm, and moved even closer to me. "Whose got your eye_ now_, Hades? " She asked, red lips parted in a grimacing smile.

"I-'Dite-" I stammered, using the nickname I had given to her years ago. Aphrodite was one person I could not easily fend off with my icy demeanor. She knew me far, far too well for that.

"Hades, stop. Just tell me what you want, and then leave," She said, blue eyes narrowed. I nodded, slowly, and she lessened her grip on my arm.

"I-I need you to help me, with a matter of love," I said, blushing. I hated how she could turn me—me, ice-king of darkness!—into a stuttering wreck. She looked up to the sky in exasperation.

"Obviously, dearest. Now, get into a bit more detail or I'll have to—force it out of you. Who is she? She'd _better_ not be a mortal."

"No, of course not. She's... Kore, daughter of Demeter. And I don't know how _she_ feels about me, but I know that Demeter despises me," I said. Aphrodite looked away, considering. She bit her lip, and smiled sadly. "So? Will you help me?" I pressed.

"Of course, dearest," she whispered, eyes glittering slyly. She threw her arms about my neck and pressed her beautiful, blonde head against my chest. "You didn't even have to ask."

Later that—week, as I suppose mortals call it—I paced around Aphrodite's bedchamber, impatient. Aphrodite was lounging on her bed, watching me.

"I told you, it **will** work. I will make it work." She told me, smiling slightly. "And I promise you, Kore will forgive you. How could she not?" She shook her head slightly. "She can't resist you."

"Are you sure you are talking about_ her_, and not_ you_?" I asked, joking. I smiled widely at her, good humor replacing my eagerness. Although I had spoken in jest, I received a solemn answer.

"I speak for the both of us, love. There was a time when I would have gladly given up my immortality for you." She said.

I stopped my pacing suddenly. "'Dite—I'm sorry..."I trailed off, and sat beside her. I took her graceful hands in mine, and continued. "But you have Ares, now, and I, well, I hope to have Kore. There was a time I, too, would have died for you," I said, quietly. She nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Then let us put this plan into action."

I took a deep breath as I paced a clearing in which I had once seen Kore. The golden flower I had placed on the edge of the clearing glimmered in the corner of my eye, and I realized how distracting it would be. With an elegant wave of my hand, I cast a temporary glamour over it to make it blend with its surroundings. I closed my eyes slowly, and exhaled.

Just then, I heard it. The telltale sign that Kore was there—girlish shrieks of her nymph friends. I could hear her laugh, bubbling and musical. My heart contracted and I assumed a position that seemed more natural. I sat on a boulder, looking down as if in deep thought.

I heard her friends crash into nearby brush. Then, they were heading away—my head snapped up—this wasn't supposed to happen! I quickly jerked my hand and took off the glamour on the flower. I once again went into position.

Thankfully, I heard from somewhere nearby, "What's that glittering over there?" It was Kore's voice, sweet and curious. I heard a nymph tell her to move on, but thankfully, she persisted. Finally, she said, "Look, why don't you go ahead? I'll be there in a second, I promise!" Giggling ensued when one of her friends said, "Yes, alright, but don't let any tall, dark strangers sweep you away!"

My eyes, still lowered, widened. Were they talking about me? My ponderings were interrupted when I heard a slight noise from the opposite side of the glade. Sure enough, there was Kore, slipping almost silently into the clearing. I looked up quickly as a twig snapped under her feet, pretending to be surprised. The movement caught her eye, and he mouth opened slightly.

"Oh!" she said, eyes wide. "I'm sorry, my Lord, I wasn't aware you were here—I'll leave..." I cut her off with a hand.

"No, it's fine. Call me Hades," I said. She closed her mouth quickly and gave me a smile. Unconsciously, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch into a smile; I quickly controlled it.

"Oh-alright," she said, green eyes still wide. I felt myself get up, and in two quick strides I was across the glade. I hesitated before her. What was I doing? This wasn't right.

She clearly thought so too. She looked shocked, timid, perhaps even—giddy? Up close, now, I had to fight my every urge to reach up and touch her face. Her skin looked smooth, sun-kissed, soft. Her lips were a perfect rose, her eyelashes were long and thick.

We studied each other, her and I, for who knows how long. I felt her eyes absorb my dark, dark hair, my pale skin, my dark blue eyes. We were polar opposites, she and I, but I could not help the way my heart thumped, the way she made me feel. Tenderly, timidly, I raised a (steady, thankfully) hand to brush a silken red strand of hair off her face. She gasped at my touch, and I moved to pull my hand away, but her own dainty hand shot up gracefully and pressed my hand to her cheek.

My heart was throbbing, my blood pounding, my throat dry. I leaned down—slowly, so slowly—and still cautiously, whispered, so close, it hurt to keep my face schooled to show no emotion, "Come with me,"

"To where?" she whispered back. I dint reply, but let her know with my gaze where I meant. _Home. Come to my home._

She gasped, slightly, and shook her head. "I-I cant," she said, voice quavering. It hurt me, hurt me deeply to do this, but I shot her a look of carefully controlled coldness, and turned away. Without replying, I became invisible silently, but as was expected, she thought me gone. I saw a tiny, precious tear stroll down her cheek. Ai, how I wanted to wipe that tear away, and kiss those perfect rosebud lips until they bruised.

Suddenly, I saw her glance at the golden flower I had placed there. She breathed, "Oh..." and carefully plucked it from the ground. Holding it up to her face, she inhaled the sweet smell it softly emitted. As she held it, a tear dripped off her face and she murmured, "Hades...Hades..." The tear hit the flower in the center, and then—

With a near silent blast of energy, she was gone.

** A / N** : I updates! Yes, I know its short, but I'm having a bit of a block with this story. Actually, that isn't really true—I kind of forgot about it! I personally thought this chapter kind of sucked, how about you? Thanks to those who have reviewed, I really appreciate it! Please review this chapter; it'll motivate me to write! ****


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